YlonenXabi wrote:I cannot believe that Ancelotti's name is being mentioned again We are leading every competition we're playing in, and Ancelotti was fired after a trophyless season earlier this year. So yes, let's bring Ancelotti It makes perfect sense in this forum full of bandwagoners and crazy fans that talk sh!t about every member of the club after every defeat. If Ancelotti comes and loses one single game I guess it will be the same all over again but with Favre, Klopp, Mourinho or Allegri as usual

We've just lost an away game in the CL group stage. We had half of the squad injured and played in a very tough place against a team that desperately needed the 3 points.

About the game:

I think we lacked some speed and creativity. Injuries and tiredness played a huge role here. Our first half was poor especially on defense, but in the second half we were much better and should've score at least one goal.

So overall I'd say any of the two teams could've won the match. Arsenal played a better first half and we were better in the second. We just were unlucky this time.

About our defense:

Yes, we have some amateur tactical mistakes from time to time. But we need at least one of Benatia/Badstuber fit. That will make a huge difference. And if Javi Martinez is not playing I'm pretty sure it has something to do with his injury or him feeling some pain on his knees.

It's not Losing that hurts, but the manner in which you lose. The last 2 seasons' losses are clearly due to the manager f*king it up in the big stage. One can understand the losses in 2012 and before, the team were not that good and we had players like Van buyten, Tymoschuk (no offense to them) who played in the defense.

But the team from last 3 seasons should not be losing like THIS. The manager plays stupid tactics, thinks he can mess up the defense and not play more than 1 central defender and yet he can win. That is a pipe dream. He knew Badstuber and Javi Martinez are injured at the beginning of the season. What is the backup ? One more injury and you play Alaba as a CB ? Arsene Wenger is better these days..

The Guardiola fanboys should just ask answer just this question: Are Bayern's losses in the last 3 years similar to other teams' losing ? Real Madrid lost last season but they did not lose because they were playing 3 in the defense with Alaba and Lahm or because they are always vulnerable to counter attacks from the opposition or there is no defensive protection at this stage.

It is OK to lose but what is pathetic is that the manager wants to 'test' his tactics in the semifinals of the CL and then changes his mind midway to revert it back again, confuse the players and more than that, praise the opposition player so much that he doesnt actually mind losing if he plays well.. It is your f*king job to stop him. Not to worship him...

Goalkeeper Petr Cech believes Arsenal’s collective team effort rather than his crucial saves was key to beating Bayern Munich – but knows more hard work lies ahead if the Gunners are to reach the knockout stages of the Champions League.Arsene Wenger’s men battled to a hard-earned 2-0 victory over the runaway Bundesliga leaders at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night, kickstarting their European campaign following successive defeats.The final result, however, could have been very different but for the intervention of Cech, the veteran former Chelsea shot-stopper making his first Champions League appearance for the Gunners this season, replacing the injured David Ospina, who was at fault for one of the goals in the 3-2 home defeat by Olympiakos last month.Cech, though, preferred to focus on the efforts of all the players and not just his contribution in producing a fine early reaction save to deny Thiago Alcantara and then deflecting over a close-range shot from Robert Lewandowski shortly before substitute Olivier Giroud headed Arsenal in front after 77 minutes.Mesut Ozil netted a second in stoppage time.“Everybody was doing their bit and I was trying to do my bit,” said the 33-year-old Cech, who won the Champions League with Chelsea in 2012/13.“I am pleased with my performance because whenever they managed to get through our defensive block I was there to help my team-mates, but I am pleased with the team’s performance as I thought we had been up for the game.“Obviously if Thiago had scored early in the game then they would have had control of the game, so it was a very important save.”Arsenal remain bottom of Group F on head-to-head record, but are now level on points with Dinamo Zagreb, who have a minus five goal difference.The London side travel to Germany next month and will need other results to go their way to stay on course for the knockout stages, with Olympiakos having won 1-0 away to Dinamo to move on to six points, the same as Bayern.Meanwhile, Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey is set for a spell on the sidelines after the Wales international was forced off during the second half with a hamstring injury.Wenger confirmed: “He is all right, but very down because he told me that his hamstring is quite a tough one.“He is out (for Saturday).” [source]

The tactics are getting frustrating. For anyone wanting to criticize Muller just ask Pep why he played him on the wing all game. These are the things we are talking about. Why make such a big change in such a big game?

Just put the players where they should be and they'll get the job done.

In the Bundesliga we are not used to having teams like Arsenal counterattacking us. So, we get away with poor tactics. But our tactics are shit when we face these tougher teams. Arsenal have a great squad, with players like Cazorla, Ramsey, Walcott, Ozil, Chamberlein.....I watch them a lot and they are very talented. Our tactics do not work (thus far) against the top teams, plain and simple.

Final thought.....a few years ago we had Kroos, Martinez and Schweine in central midfield. These guys were unbelievable. I watched the Madrid - PSG game yesterday and damn was Kroos good.

Our central midfield is much weaker now. Alonso is old at 33. Thiago is young and inconsistent at 24. Vidal still has yet to fully gel with the team. We used to dominate and create chances against the big clubs. I think our central midfield being weaker plays a huge part in that. I'm disappointed the board thought Alonso, Thiago and Vidal could replace Schweine and Kroos, and I'm just as disappointed that Pep removed Martinez from central midfield where he was epic for Bayern. We are weaker in tactics, we are weaker in central midfield, and without coman and costa we are weaker on the wings.

Defensively we still have great players in Alaba, Boateng, Bernat, Rafinha, Martinez (due to Pep), Lahm, Benatia, etc.In the striker/forward position we have Lewa and Muller, enough said

Central midfield is the big weakness for us now. The Thiago/Alonso combo is not world class. One is older and one is younger and inconsistent. And while Kimmich is one for the future, he's too young to be expected to perform at a very high level on a consistent basis. I rate him but he's no Kroos (as of now). Hopefully Vidal starts dominating the big games b/c we need it.

SchwanMunich wrote:Final thought.....a few years ago we had Kroos, Martinez and Schweine in central midfield. These guys were unbelievable. I watched the Madrid - PSG game yesterday and damn was Kroos good.

Our central midfield is much weaker now. Alonso is old at 33. Thiago is young and inconsistent at 24. Vidal still has yet to fully gel with the team. We used to dominate and create chances against the big clubs. I think our central midfield being weaker plays a huge part in that. I'm disappointed the board thought Alonso, Thiago and Vidal could replace Schweine and Kroos, and I'm just as disappointed that Pep removed Martinez from central midfield where he was epic for Bayern. We are weaker in tactics, we are weaker in central midfield, and without coman and costa we are weaker on the wings.

Central midfield is the big weakness for us now. The Thiago/Alonso combo is not world class. One is older and one is younger and inconsistent. And while Kimmich is one for the future, he's too young to be expected to perform at a very high level on a consistent basis. I rate him but he's no Kroos (as of now). Hopefully Vidal starts dominating the big games b/c we need it.

I have to agree with you here. On their best day, I think our current midfield is maybe the best in the world, but over an entire season, I have big doubts as well... I mean, yes they dominate possession even against good possession teams like Arsenal, but it's very slow tempo and Thiago and Vidal especially have not shown great finishing to help the forwards break down defenses.

My concern is about Kimmich and/or Højbjerg. Will one of those two be ready to step in by next year when Alonso's contract expires? If not, then I have a bad feeling that we would re-sign Xabi.

JANCKER wrote:It was a really bad game in 2013, the worst, but we had the 3-0 win before losing that one. This time we have nothing granted, unlike the 2 past seasons when we had secured the 1st place.

The worst game was 3-1 vs BATE, which was part of the same season. That was also part of the CL group stages, just like Tuesday's game vs. Arsenal.

I still consider the Arsenal game to be the worst but remember we had a 3-0 cushion. BATE certainly was a threat to our qualification... This time if we screw up the game against Arsenal in Allianz Arena who are no BATE we might risk our qualification. We weren't in this kind of situation in the past years.

zozon wrote:Every season is a NEW one. Every season Bayern have to prove themselves. Every season Bayern HAVE to send out messages.And yes - destroying Arsenal will send a big message.

For my own sake? Its not like i bet my house on a Bayern win, jeez.

So now tell me - Are you an Arsenal fan or a EPL lover?

Why do you feel that Bayern have to prove themselves every week?Bayern lost against Arsenal but you know what? They are still the deadliest team in Europe.I support Arsenal but appreciate football.

It's been a few days since the match has finished, I tried putting a reply together before but never got the chance.Anyways, it's really funny how we over criticize our own teams.

From an Arsenal fans perspective, I personally thought we played really poor. We could barely keep hold of the ball and couldn't string passes together. We kept giving the ball away and a lot of our players were out of form. We were overcrowded in midfield with Bayern not playing the wide game. This is the same tactic many have used against us at the Emirates, recently Slavan Bilic with West Ham and they went away with a 2-0 win at the Emirates. The idea being to choke out our midfield which is our strong area.

You have to remember, we are not used to playing without the ball. I can recall a handful of times when we have been bossed the complete match like this.I have read a few people saying they were about to drop a big one when we countered, well what do you expect? Any formation or tactic has it's advantages and disadvantages. I have seen us play many many times the way Bayern did that night and lose the game in the end.

My verdict of the match was we got lucky. Tactically, Wenger got it spot on but ultimately, we got lucky. Luck has always been against us but it looks like it's finally arrived, maybe it's something to do with the hat worn by the man between the posts?

P.S. Hargreave's is a twat. I hope I never have to listen to that mans voice again.

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